Feed container with internal retention member

ABSTRACT

A feed container for storing hardened livestock feed is disclosed. The feed container has a storage area defined by a bottom wall and a sidewall for retaining animal feed within the storage area when the feed is in a solid phase and the feed container is in a non-upward resting position or is on its sidewall. Also disclosed is a method for utilizing a feed container, having said storage area for retaining animal feed within the storage area when the feed is in a solid phase and the feed container is in a non-upward resting position or is on its sidewall.

BACKGROUND

When feeding livestock, large containers are oftentimes placed on theground to enable the animals to eat therefrom. However, it is common forthese containers to tip over if, for example, an animal or personaccidentally kicks or steps onto the edge of the container. As a result,the feed product within the container will empty from the container whenthe container is tipped or toppled, ultimately resting on the ground indirt or mud. This is especially problematic in cold weather when feedmaterial hardens inside the container, which increases the likelihood ofthe hardened feed, in its entirety, sliding out of the container as awhole. During the winter months, for example, molasses based products orother hardenable feed products can harden into a solid block whentemperatures are cold temperatures or extremely cold. If the containeris tipped over or is on its side in such conditions, the hardenedproduct may be subject to damage, slide out of the container potentiallydamaging the entire hardened block, e.g., molasses block, and/or causethe block to crack or become contaminated or covered in dirt, mud orother debris.

SUMMARY

A container is disclosed having a bottom wall and a sidewall forming astorage area for holding livestock feed. The container includes one or aplurality of retention members molded integral with or otherwise affixedto the inner surface of the sidewall of the container.

The retention members each extend outwardly from the inner surface ofthe sidewall and into the storage area. Each retention member retains ahardenable feed product in the storage area when feed product ishardened, such as for example, hardened molasses. In particular, one ora plurality of retention members extend into the storage area of thecontainer and together grip or otherwise retain the feed material toresist a sliding outward movement of the feed material from the storagearea when the container is in a non-upward resting position (i.e., istipped or turned over on its side). The feed container may be formed ofplastic or may be formed of metal.

Still further is a method for manufacturing a feed container, the feedcontainer having a storage area defined by a bottom wall and a sidewall,the feed container for retaining livestock feed within the storage areawhen the feed is in a solid phase and the feed container is resting onits sidewall. The method includes forming one or more spaced apartretention members, each retention member extending from an interiorsurface of the sidewall into the storage area and including an outerprotruding boundary and optionally, an inner depression or cavity. Theone or more spaced apart retention members retain the animal feed whenin a solid phase in the feed container. The step of forming the one ormore spaced apart retention members includes forming the one or morespaced apart retention members so that they are disposed about 0.5inches to about 4 inches above the bottom wall of the container. In thestep of forming the one or more spaced apart retention members, eachretention member extends outward from the interior surface for adistance that is between about ⅛ inch and 1 inch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a representative feed container in which atleast one retention member is employed for one or more advantagesdescribed herein;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the container of FIG. 1 illustrating a pluralityof retention members;

FIG. 2A is a section view detailing a retention member of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the representative retention memberillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of another representative retention memberdescribed herein; and

FIG. 5 is an illustration of still another representative retentionmember described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same reference numerals,respectively. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and certainfeatures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic formin the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a feed container 2 having at least one retentionmember 10 that is arranged and designed to retain and/or otherwisesecure a feed product within the container 2, such as a hardened feedproduct (whether in a hardenable state, semi-solid, or solid phase). Inparticular, the retention member 10 prevents and/or otherwisesubstantially eliminates the likelihood of hardened feed product slidingout of a storage area 12 of the container 2 and thus becoming damaged orotherwise contaminated with dirt and other debris when the feedcontainer 2 is tipped on its side.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the feed container 2includes a bottom wall 16 and a sidewall 18 forming the storage area 12to receive the hardenable feed product. The continuous sidewall 18 has afirst or lower end 20 and a second or upper end 22. In some embodiments,as depicted in FIG. 1, the upper end 22 includes a lip 24 extendingtherefrom to facilitate lifting of the container 2 and to otherwiseprovide additional rigidity to the upper end 22.

According to some embodiments, the sidewall 18 may be perpendicularlypositioned with respect to the bottom wall 16. In other embodiments, thesidewall 18 may be angularly disposed with respect to the bottom wall 16such that a perimeter formed by the sidewall 18 at or near its lower end20 is less than a perimeter formed by the sidewall 18 at or near itsupper end 22. Generally the shape of the perimeter formed by thesidewall 18 at or near its lower end 20 and the shape of the perimeterformed by the sidewall 18 at or near its upper end 22 are generally thesame, though not always of the exact same dimensions. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the shape of each of lower end perimeter and the upper endperimeter is circular, although it should be understood that the shapemay vary.

As illustrated specifically in FIGS. 1 and 2, one or a plurality ofretention members 10 are disposed on and extend from the inner surface32 of sidewall 18. As illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 2, theretention members 10 are equidistantly spaced around the inner surface32, although it should be understood that any suitable and alternativespacing configuration is acceptable. Moreover, at each location, theremay also be more than one retention member 10, such that more than oneretention member may be positioned side by side, or one above another,or in any other useful arrangement. In some embodiments, such as thatdepicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, each retention member 10 is positioned at thesame elevation along the sidewall 18, although the elevation of eachretention member 10 may vary.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, each retention member 10projects outwardly from the inner surface 32 of sidewall 18. The generalcross-sectional shape of the retention member 10 is non-limiting. Forexample, the shape of retention member 10 may be elliptical, as depictedin FIG. 3, although the shape of the retention member 10 may becircular, rectangular (FIG. 4) or polygonal (FIG. 5). It should beunderstood that not all retention members need be the same shape.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the retention member 10 is moldedintegral with sidewall 18. In other embodiments, the retention member 10is separately affixed to inner surface 32 of sidewall 18.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 3-5, each retention member 10 is formedhaving a continuous wall 52 and includes a cavity or hollow inner region50 to provide, as discussed in further detail below, enhanced grippingperformance. It should be understood that each retention member 10 maybe formed without a hollow inner region 50 and further, wall 52 may benon-continuous such that it may have spaced apart regions.

By way of example, a retention member 10 has an elliptical shape with ahollow region 50 and is spaced apart from the bottom wall 16 at adistance “D-1” (FIG. 2A) which is between about 0.5 to about 4 inches,and may be, for example, about 1 inch or about 1.5 inches or about 2inches or about 2.5 inches or about 3.0 inches or about 3.5 inches fromthe bottom wall 16. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2A, the retention member10 extends outwardly away from inner surface 32 of sidewall 18 adistance “D-2” that is from about ⅛ inch up to about 1 inch, and may,for example, extend a distance “D-2” that is ⅛ inch or about ¼ inch orabout ½ inch or about ¾ inch or about 1 inch away from inner surface 32of sidewall 18.

Preferably, one or more retention members 10 are advantageously shapedand positioned to retain hardened livestock feed product within storagearea 12 in the event the container 2 is tipped or otherwise positionedin the non-upward resting position. For example, a molasses productinitially in a more liquid phase will generally harden over time whendisposed within storage area 12, especially in cold weatherenvironments. In such instances, the hardened molasses block as a solidcan slide outward from the protection of storage area 12 when saidcontainer 2 is bumped, kicked, tipped or dumped over, which may lead tothe hardened molasses block eventually resting on grass, dirt, mudand/or other debris. Retention member 10 is so configured that when thefeed product hardens into a block, retention member 10 grips and retainsthe hardened feed product within storage area 12 of container 2, toprevent and/or otherwise resist sliding movement of the block fromstorage area 12 that could otherwise occur.

In use, a feeding product in a liquid or semi-liquid form is poured intostorage area 12 of container 2 and filled, generally to a level at leastat or above the one or more retention members 10. If the productsolidifies, the feeding product will conform around the one or moreretention members 10 and inside the hollow regions 50 for enhancedgripping. Accordingly, when container 2 is in or is moved to a positionother than an upright position (e.g., tipped over or on its side), theone or more retention members 10 each grip or retain feeding productwithin the container 2 to prevent or substantially reduce the likelihoodof feeding product sliding outwardly from storage area 12.

In one or more embodiments, container 2 is a plastic molded containerand is manufactured by providing a mold cavity and a mating core, whichdefine the shape of the feed container 2. In some embodiments, the moldcavity further comprises shaped regions defining the one or moreretention members 10. In some embodiments, the mold cavity defines thecontainer 2 and not the one or more retention members 10. In the latterembodiment, the one or more retention members 10 are separately moldedand affixed to the container 2 after it is molded (e.g., adhesion, meltfitting, soldering, press fitting, nailing, bolting, etc.). Duringmanufacture, and to form the container 2 (with or without the one ormore retention members 10), a suitable plastic material for molding afeed container 2 is inserted between the mold cavity and mating core,the mold is closed and heated to a predetermined temperature after whichthe plastic material is formed into the container 2. After applying thenecessary heat and forming the container 2, the mold cavity and matingcore are separated to facilitate the removal of feed container 2 fromthe mating core.

Although embodiments of a plastic container 2 have been described indetail, those skilled in the art will also recognize that varioussubstitutions and modifications may be made without departing from thescope and spirit of the appended claims to fabricate a metal or metalclad container or the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for storing hardened animal livestockfeed, the container comprising: a bottom wall and a sidewall extendingfrom the bottom wall, the bottom wall forming a floor along the entiretyof the bottom of the container, the sidewall having a top end oppositethe bottom wall, the bottom wall and the sidewall forming a storage areafor receiving animal livestock feed therein; a plurality of spaced apartretention members, each spaced apart retention member having a retentionsidewall extending radially inward from the inner surface of thesidewall toward the central axis of the container a predetermined lengthfrom the inner surface of the sidewall and into the storage area, eachof the plurality of spaced apart retention members being separated andspaced apart from the bottom wall of the container along the entirelength of the retention member, the retention sidewall having a firstend attached to the inner surface of the sidewall of the container, anda second end opposite the first end that extends into the storage area,wherein the retention sidewall comprises an enclosed perimetercomprising a constant depth; and each retention sidewall and thesidewall of the container forming an enclosed hollow interior, theenclosed hollow interior formed to open into the storage area such thatthe enclosed hollow interior is in fluid communication with only thestorage area through only an opening at the retention sidewall secondend to receive and retain the hardened animal livestock feed within thestorage area and for resisting removal of the hardened livestock feedfrom within the storage area, an entirety of at least one of theplurality of spaced apart retention members extending from the sidewallat a position on the sidewall of the container closer to the bottom wallof the container than the top end of the container so that only theanimal livestock feed fills the hollow interior of the at least one ofthe plurality of spaced apart retention members when the animallivestock feed is filled in the container.
 2. The container of claim 1,wherein the plurality of spaced apart retention members are atsubstantially a same elevation with respect to the bottom wall of thecontainer.
 3. The container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacedapart retention members are equidistantly spaced apart.
 4. The containerof claim 1, wherein the plurality of spaced apart retention members areformed having an elliptical cross-sectional shape.
 5. The container ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of spaced apart retention members areformed having a rectangular cross-section.
 6. The feed container ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of spaced apart retention members arepositioned at a distance from the bottom wall of the feed container,wherein the distance is from between about 0.5 inches to about 4 inches.7. The container of claim 1, wherein the first end and the second end ofthe retention sidewall are both spaced a same distance from the bottomwall.
 8. The container of claim 1, wherein the retention sidewall isspaced a constant distance from the bottom wall along the entirety ofthe predetermined length.
 9. The container of claim 1, wherein theretention sidewall is spaced a same elevation from the bottom wall alongthe entirety of the predetermined length.
 10. The container of claim 1,wherein the hollow enclosed interior is of a constant radius andcross-section.
 11. The container of claim 1, wherein the openingcomprises an annulus.
 12. The container of claim 1, wherein the hollowenclosed interior comprises a cylindrical hollow enclosed interior. 13.The container of claim 1, wherein the opening comprises an ellipticalannulus.
 14. A container for storing hardened feed therein, thecontainer comprising: a sidewall and a bottom wall forming a storagearea for holding feed, the sidewall having a lower half adjacent thebottom wall, and an upper half adjacent a top end of the storage areaopposite the bottom wall; and a plurality of retention members extendingradially inward from the sidewall and into the storage area from thelower half of the sidewall, each of the plurality of retention membersspaced apart and having a retention sidewall that has a first endattached to the sidewall of the container, and a second end opposite thefirst end that extends radially inward into the storage area, whereineach retention sidewall is separated and spaced apart from the bottomwall of the container and comprises an enclosed perimeter comprising aconstant depth, the bottom wall forming a barrier along the entirety ofthe bottom of the container, each retention sidewall separated from thebottom wall along an entire length of the retention sidewall between thefirst end and the second end, and each retention sidewall and thesidewall of the container forming an enclosed hollow interior, thehollow interior formed to open into the storage area such that theenclosed hollow interior remains in fluid communication with the storagearea through an opening at the retention sidewall second end, so thatonly feed is retained within the hollow interior.
 15. The container ofclaim 14, wherein the plurality of retention members are atsubstantially a same elevation with respect to the bottom wall.
 16. Thecontainer of claim 14, wherein the plurality of retention members areequidistantly spaced apart.
 17. The container of claim 14, wherein thecontainer is formed of metal.
 18. The container of claim 14, wherein theplurality of retention members are formed having an ellipticalcross-section.
 19. The container of claim 14, wherein the plurality ofretention members are molded integral with the sidewall, forming adiscrete shape.